ST. PAUL, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Joe Fano had to be scratching his head after the opening 20 minutes of Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff opener against Hamline.
 
After all, his Cardinals shot an impressive 46.6 percent from the field in the first half — and went into the locker room at the intermission trailing by 16.
 
And the 15-minute break did nothing to cool off the red-hot Pipers, as Hamline added 39 second-half points to its 50-point first-half total in dealing Saint Mary's an 89-64 setback at Hutton Arena.
 
Hamline was virtually unstoppable in the first half, shooting 67.9 percent from the field (19-for-28) and knocked down 8 of 13 3-pointers in building its 16-point halftime lead, then went on to shoot 50 percent from the field in the second half in sealing the victory — and a date with top-seeded Saint John's on Tuesday in Collegeville, Minn.
 
After trading baskets to open the game, the Pipers slowing pulled away, scoring 15 of the next 19 points for a 17-6 lead, before putting together an 8-0 run that pushed that advantage to 18, 42-24. Saint Mary's closed to within 13, 46-33, before HU netted four of the final five points of the half to head into the locker room leading 50-34.
 
Hamline came out of the halftime break scoring 10 of the first 17 points to push the lead back to 19, 60-41, with 14:46 on the clock. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, Minn.) and a layup by Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) sparked an 8-0 run that got the Cardinals within 11, 60-49 midway through the half.
 
Saint Mary's would get within 11 three more times, including 69-58 with 6:49 to go, but the Pipers would let SMU get no closer — ending the half on a 20-6 run to cement the win,
 
Anthony finished with a team-leading 15 points and added 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. The junior also added seven assists, while Kjeseth chipped in 13 points and Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) added 11.
 
As a team, the Cardinals shot 44.4 percent from the field (24-for-54) with six 3-pointers and a 5 of 11 effort from the free throw line. The Pipers, meanwhile, finished 31 of 52 from the field (59.6 percent) with 13 3-pointers and went 14-for-22 from the line.
 
The Cardinals, who were making their second straight MIAC Playoff appearance, close out the year with a 8-16 overall record, including a 6-13 mark in conference play.
 
 
 
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